PHOTO: interior view of the new Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family, situated in the Belaya Dacha in Moscow.

On 5th November 2023, the Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family opened at the newly restored Belaya Dacha estate in the city of Kotelniki of the Moscow district. It is the second dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II to be opened in Moscow – the first being the Museum of Emperor Nicholas II.

The permanent exhibition, which is located on the first floor of the museum, feature about 300 unique exhibits, including many personal items belongings to the Imperial Family. Among them is a piano belonging to Nicholas II’s mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Also on display, are the letters of Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich [the future Emperor Nicholas II] to Alexandra Feodorovna, written between 1890-91, during a trip to Japan, where an attempt was made on his life.

In addition, a letter from Empress Maria Feodorovna to Emperor Wilhelm II, received by him two days before Germany declared war on Russia, vintage photographs of the last Tsar and his family and other unique exhibits are also displayed.

Draped over a chair in the recreated study of the Tsar, is an exact copy of a uniform of Nicholas II. It looks very simple, as it reflects how the Emperor dressed when he went out to greet his soldiers, thus demonstrating respect for his army.

“Exhibits for the museum have been collected over the last three years, from private collections and auctionsall over the world,” said Lyudmila Grosarchuk, curator of the museum.

“We are bringing back to our country, to our home, what was scattered so carelessly following the 1917 Revolution,” added Viktor Semyonov, Chairman of the Museum Supervisory Board.

At the opening of the museum, the first visitors were given a tour of the exhibition and the and museum. A performances by the State “Berezka” Dance Ensemble, Russian opera star Hibla Gerzmava, and People’s Artist of Russia Sergey Migitsko.

As a symbol of the unity of Russian museums, an oak from Tsarskoye Selo was planted on the grounds of estate.

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PHOTO: the Belaya Dacha estate mansion (above), now home of the private museum of the family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II in Moscow. Viktor Semenov (below), Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the The Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family.

© Paul Gilbert. 6 November 2023